Previously I had thought Mordicai Rucker was the only Rucker in
North Carolina. Now, I have been given information that there were
many more. Below are some of the notes.

From Frances Ivester Simonian:

It appears that Anna Rucker may have been the daughter of Lemuel
Rucker (Peter-1, William-2, William-3, Lemuel-4). At least this is
the theory that I am working on to this point. There is an Anna
Rucker born c. 1790 who, on some documents, is shown as the daughter
of William-4 (brother of Lemuel).

However, William-4 is too young to be her father. I have been told
by people at the Rucker Society that the children listed under
William-4 are actually the children of Lemuel who were raised by
William-4 after Lemuel and his wife, Polly, died. These same children
also show up as grandchildren in the will of William-3. William-4 is,
indeed, too young to be the father of Anna, but his brother Lemuel,
who was born 1771, is old enough to be the father of Anna.

The children of Lemuel are: J.W.E., Joel Shelton, Frances M.A.,
Anna M.A., William Childes, James Clements, and Lemuel.

The problem with trying to tie all this down is that there are 2-3
books published on the Ruckers and there is some disagreement between
them.

My reasons for following this line are as follows:

1. There is a William Rucker on the 1790 NC census (Anna was born
in Rutherford Co., NC c. 1790).

2. George Ivester/Anna Rucker moved from NC to Habersham Co., GA
c. 1822. At the same time, William-4 and his siblings, appear in
Elbert Co., GA which I understand is very close to Habersham. The
Ruckers who moved to GA did so as a result of the Georgia land
lottery and lands they were awarded. It is possible that George and
Anna followed her family to Georgia.

3. Other information regarding these Ruckers includes J.W.E.
Rucker shown in the Franklin Land Lottery, 1836, and a Lemuel Rucker
was Justice of the Peace in Franklin Co., GA during 1822-23 and again
in 1825-26. These are probably the brothers of our Anna (children of
Lemuel-4).

In summary, this is how our lineage appears - at this point:
Peter-1, William-2, William-3, Lemuel-4, Anna-5. Lemuel's wife's name
was Polly Rucker. I don't know if Rucker was her maiden name or
married name. If it was her maiden name, then Lemuel married his
cousin and that makes us double- Ruckers.

Our Anna's parents are an illusive group but we'll get there.

More from Fran:

With all the data I have gathered and tried to piece together,
this scenario is the mostly likely (Lemuel as her father). For about
two years I was working on her father being William-4, not Lemuel-4
(his brother). The documents I had to that point in time confirmed
it. Anna and her siblings were listed as children of William-4. Then
I was hit broad-side by William's year of birth and the realization
that even though Anna is listed in some documents as his daughter,
she must, in fact, have been his niece (son of Lemuel) whom he
raised. It's interesting to note that George and Anna named their
second son William - who is my 2xgreat-grandfather. Anna is listed in
the will of William Rucker-3 (son of Peter) as William-2 was her
grandfather. William-3's father was Peter.

More from Fran:

After much research, the Peter (1), William (2), William (3),
William (4), and Anna (5) was the line that I - along with several
other researchers - came up with. However, a short while after I had
posted that to the Rucker site, I was advised by Jeannie Robinson
(her grandmother wrote the Rucker book) that William (4) never
married. This contradicts information I have found (early on and I
was not documenting things well at that time) which definitely lists
children of William (4) - among them is Anna. These same children are
listed in the will of William (3) as his grandchildren. Jeannie must
be correct though - because after checking the birthdate of William
(4), it indicates he was not old enough to be Anna's father. This
launched a whole new search which, coincidently, brought me back to
William (3) but instead of his son William (4) being the father of
Anna, it appears that another son (William-4's brother) Lemuel Rucker
is probably (emphasize probably) Anna's father. Lemuel was several
years older than his brothers William, Tavenor and Barden. From other
Rucker researchers, I have learned that Lemuel married his own first
cousin - a Polly Rucker. Evidently they both died at an early age and
their children (including Anna Rucker) were probably raised by
William (4) and named in the will of their grandfather, William (3).
I can't get to my file right now, but when I can, I will send you the
names of Lemuel's other children. The names fit with other Rucker
names found in Janice's book - in Elbert, Franklin and Habersham
Counties, Georgia.

Janice's theory - or at least a thought - was that George and Anna
probably followed Anna's family to Georgia from North Carolina. Their
names are found as being awarded land through the Georgia Land
Lottery.

I wish I had my data handy so I could give you more specifics.
However, the above seems highly probable. I keep searching and I know
some day I will find the proof required by the Rucker Society. In the
meantime, I am not discounting other possibilities but, after almost
three years of searching, I keep coming back to the scenario I
described. I can't prove it - but so far no one had disproved it.
Even Jeannie Robinson indicated it was a possibility.

(Note from Ruth: Jeannie e-mailed me and said that Mordecai
was the ONLY Rucker ever found in North Carolina.)

One interesting thing I found (again it is filed away) was a
census report (after George had died) listing Anna as Elizabeth Ann
Ivester. Curious. Does that mean her name was really Elizabeth but
she went by Anna? Don't know - but it has given me a new way to look
for her.

Finding Anna's past is not an easy task. Janice didn't do it in
the twenty something years she researched her book - but the clues
she did come up with - when all put together - come up with Peter
(1), William (2), William (3) and William (4) - and/or Lemuel (4).

Jeannie Robinson suggested to me that possibly Anna was not a
Rucker - but some other similar spelliing. However, one of the other
Ivester researchers some time ago wrote for some kind of official
record and was told the name of George Newell (or Newton) Ivester's
wife's name was Anna Rucker. We know that Anna was born in 1790 in
North Carolina - this comes from census records. We also know that
there was a William Rucker on the 1790 North Carolina census. This is
probably William (3) or William (4). This family eventually moved to
Elbert County, Georgia - very near Habersham County.

More from Fran:

12/31/99 - My new theory is that George really married someone
named Alice Jones or Jane Smith - and there never was an Anna Rucker.
Either that - or Anna's family was part of the witness protection
program and we are all descendants of the first female fugitive.

From D, Hugh Puckett:

COLBY and JOSEPH RUCKER were in Wilkes and Burke Cos. 1780s and
later. They were descendents of WILLIAM RUCKER of Amelia Co., VA who
was son of Peter RUCKER. Colby lived on Kings Cr. of the Yadkin River
and Joseph was on the Burke Co. side of the line above the head of
Kings Cr.

In addition ISAAC TINSLEY who was a RUCKER descendent also lived
in Wilkes Co.

My ancestor, James LEWIS, lived on Kings Cr. in Wilkes Co., NC and
is mentioned in a number of records that involve the Ann (Collins)
WISDOM family which includes her sons-in-law, a couple of Bradley
men. James Lewis had a son, MORDECAI Lewis. Ann WISDOM mentioned a
couple of the Ruckers in her will. Ann Wisdom's mother was a Lewis. I
suspect that the name Mordecai in my Lewis family comes from the
Rucker family but do not know if that is correct. Perhaps someone out
there will have some answers for me.

Thank you Hugh for this good information!

More from Hugh:

Should you find anything on Colby or Joseph Rucker, Francis Pierce
or the Lewis family of Kings Cr., Wilkes Co., NC I would very much
like to know about it. Colby Rucker moved to Natchez, MS with his
mother and step-father before he moved to Wilkes Co., NC. I have some
dates about these moves somewhere in my notes if they are of interest
to you. I think James Lewis was related to these Ruckers but I do not
know how. One of two of the Ruckers are buried in the same cemetery
in Hart Co., KY as is my 2 g g'father, JOHN PORTER LEWIS, son of
George Lewis of Kings Cr., Wilkes Co., NC.